Teen Pregnancies

 Teenage pregnancies are a menace in our society today, with devastating effects on all the people involved. It brings with it many challenges to the adolescent girl, the family, the community and even the child that's born there. 

Who are the perpetrators of this vice?, well from experience working with teen groups and programs, most of these pregnancies are from teenage boys and young men in their early 20's. Another category of men involved in this vice are the Grandpa's of these girls especially where there are dysfunctional families (seen from my practice) and this cut's across social classes in the society.

Am writing this to alert teenage girls, their parents and guardians, and other family members so that we take care of our teen girls and ensure they don't fall victim. Therefore young girls watch out during this long school holiday which also couples up as festive season. Hey young girls, don't become somebody's Christmas gift!!, don't become an experimenting laboratory!, don't experiment with your body, you are a live being and not a thing to be experimented on!!.

There are many health challenges that present with teenage pregnancies which you don't want to experience. I will discuss these and many other issues in the subsequent write-ups, so watch out for that.💓💓

Reasons why Teens fall into the Trap....

In today's episode I would like us to explore some of the reasons that lead to Teen girls getting pregnant and how to avoid being victim.

From experience especially in the informal settlements (slums), children and teens of both genders are exposed to sexual activities quite early in life owing to the kind of houses in which they live. In these houses, there's Little or No Privacy at all from the parents or guardians they live with making the teen think that it is normal and probably that there's nothing wrong with engaging in sex as well. To the teen who will read this; I would like you to know that there's everything wrong with you engaging in sex at your age because you are not prepared  for the consequences that will follow. As you know, every action has a consequence/s which I will discuss later on by the way. I would therefore advice every teenager out there not to play with fire, you will burn your fingers!, Doesn't matter what's happening in your home, you can escape this trap!  To parents of teens, kindly be careful with your bedroom matters and know how to organize your small room or house properly otherwise you will become grandparents at 40!, I have seen it happen, this is not a story!

Teens are left with too much idle time in their hands with no one to monitor their movements and actions. They therefore roam around with friends from house to house or estate to estate and there lies in the danger!. In these circumstances they'll meet with their peers of opposite sex and decide to experiment with their bodies since hormones are running wild in them and it feels like they're already adults. The young girl has no idea that her body is NOT ready or mature enough to carry pregnancy and from a point of ignorance they indulge in sex only to find out later that they have fallen victims and the consequences are glaring at them. Wueeh!, Noma Sana! (pure trouble). Parents of teens, know the whereabouts of your teens both genders at anytime and don't just leave to them to decide what to do, where to go, whom to hang out with. Keep them engaged productively at home especially during the long school holidays and festive seasons. I suggest that if you run a shop or any other business, have them work there with you, or assign other duties at home as you deem fit for them. Teenagers, cooperate with your parents since they know better than you, but of course not in doing anything that might work against you... I will explain this in the next paragraph.

There are situations where parents especially Mothers agree with some older single men in the community to have their teen daughters work at the old man's house say in cooking/cleaning for them in exchange of having their house rent paid, shopping done for them or whatever other needs they have met by the old man. This girl ends up being abused sexually by the old man and the Mother is very much aware of it!  Some Mothers who practice this go to the extent of getting contraceptive methods implanted in the girls' body to avoid pregnancy but ignorant of other risks they are exposing the girl to such as HIV other sexually transmitted infections(STI's), and other consequences I will address later. This mostly happens where there are economic challenges with the girl's family. Please Mothers, this is very evil and inconsiderate to the girl!, you are putting too much pressure on this girl! remember she's still underage! Go out yourself and fed for your family!!, you are responsible for bringing those children on this planet earth. Stop being lazy!!!, think of other ways to create income for your family!. These  are not stories,,, it is REALITY, I have witnessed it, very sad! Teen girls, DO NOT AGREE to these kinds of arrangements, they will ruin your life completely, seek help!! Topic to be continued.....